On the road again: street report issued for Post Falls

POST FALLS — In the 2024 streets report to City Council, Ross Junkin, maintenance manager for public works, said Tuesday night that the city is “looking for ways to make our dollars stretch” when it comes to road repair. 

This year, the department was able to cover 5.31 miles or 2.7% of the city’s roadways in chip seal and 1.25 miles of in-house paving was performed. 

“It seems every year we are able to do for the dollars that we have continues to reduce,” Junkin said. 

One way he intends to encourage lower costs is by opening the process earlier to bids to potentially snag better pricing for Post Falls to cover more road.  

This year, 2,000 gallons of paint was used for roadway striping. 

There were at least five street sweeping circuits between May and September of the entire city with 1,000 miles covered in total. The department has two street sweepers because they tend to break down frequently.

If you've ever wondered how many signs are in use to increase public safety in a city, Post Falls has 7,733 in use.

The city now has 14 roundabouts, 83 rapid flash beacons for crosswalks, with 30 of those going into place this year. 

The flashing beacons cost about $7,500 each in addition to installation costs.

Stenciling of the road lines has already taken place and the city is hoping the new striping truck will arrive soon so employees can train and use the new equipment while conditions remain optimal.

"The challenge we're up against right now is temperature. The cooler it starts getting, the longer it takes to dry," Junkin said.

In preparation for the winter, Post Falls has ordered four new gated snowplows. The city will have eight total in rotation and are adding an ice breaker to the tools in use to keep roadways clear.

Ten of 18 of the department's staff members have achieved Road Scholar and Road Master status to open up avenues to attain better state grant funds.